Hair coloring applicator

ABSTRACT

A hair coloring applicator may include a handle portion and an applying portion. The applying portion may include a first applying element and a second applying element. In one aspect, the hair coloring applicator may be scissor-shaped. In another aspect, the hair coloring applicator may be clamp-shaped. The hair coloring applicator in the present invention is advantageous because it is much easier for the user to control the applicator to apply the dye(s) on the hair, and more importantly to a specific strand of the hair, even including the portion closed to the root of the hair to cover grey roots effectively. Also, the dyes or the hair treatment materials are unlikely to spread out to other portions of hair. Moreover, the hair coloring applicator can eliminate unnecessary contact between the scalp and the dyes.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present invention claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119 (e) to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 62/152,948, filed on Apr. 26, 2015, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a hair coloring apparatus, and more particularly to a hair coloring applicator that is configured to precisely apply the dye(s) to a specific strand of the hair or to reach areas of grey roots.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Hair coloring is undertaken to change or cover the color of hair for many different reasons. For instance, hair is often dyed to cover hair that has turned gray, to lighten or change the shade of hair, or to highlight or lowlight hair. Bright colors may be used for a fun effect, especially with temporary coloring compositions, and recently it has become increasingly popular to treat hair, and particularly women's hair, by coloring or tinting selected strands of hair while separated and isolated from the remaining hair strands.

Conventionally, the application of dyes for the purpose of changing or enhancing hair color has been a notably messy and tedious undertaking, even when performed by a professional stylist. Therefore, a number of techniques and devices have been developed for hair coloring or treatment so that both the stylist and the customer can better enjoy the hair coloring process and results. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,499,637 to Foti discloses an applicator brush providing a tapered handle portion for lifting and separating hair, and a plurality of bristles emanating perpendicularly therefrom. However, the applicator disclosed by Foti cannot dispose the dyes in a specific strand of the hair because the Foti applicator cannot effectively hold a specific stand of hair to be colored, and more importantly, the excessive quantities of the dyes may spread out from the brush to other portions of the hair.

Furthermore, the applicators disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,079,420 (the '420 patent) and U.S. Pat. No. 6,142,157 (the '157 patent) have a retaining structure which comprises a predetermined arrangement of tines as shown in FIG. 2. Even though such applicators with tines claim that they provide a consistent result from hair root to hair tip, and/or from strand to strand, it is difficult to precisely control the tines dye a specific location of the hair with a handle shown in FIG. 2. Moreover, such applicators with tines offer little or no flexibility as to the application pattern for the hair treatment product, whereas different areas of the hair might call for different application pattern.

More recently, U.S. Pat. No. 7,934,512 to Spagnuolo discloses a hair highlighting applicator, which includes a flexible dispenser for holding a hair coloring gel therein, as shown in FIG. 3. The flexible dispenser has a first open end and a second open end. A first twist-off cap is removably mounted to the first open end of the flexible dispenser, a prong is axially supported on the first twist-off cap for separating the hair, and a second twist-off cap is removably mounted to the second open end of the flexible dispenser. A mechanism is for distributing the hair coloring gel onto the hair. The distributing mechanism is axially supported on the second twist-off cap and is in fluid communication with the flexible dispenser. When the flexible dispenser is squeezed the hair coloring gel will be forced through the distributing mechanism and applied onto the hair. Even though the applicator disclosed by Spagnuolo may resolve the issues of the messiness of the dye that may spread out from the applicator, it is still difficult for the user to precisely apply the dye(s) to a specific location of the hair.

Therefore, there remains a need for a new and improved hair treatment applicator to overcome the problems presented above.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the present invention to provide a hair coloring or treatment applicator to precisely apply the dye(s) or treatment items to a specific strand of the hair.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a simple hair treatment applicator so the user may operate it by himself/herself at home to achieve intended purposes.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a simple hair treatment applicator to effectively clamp the user's hair so the user or the stylist can easily dye a specific portion of the user's hair without applying the dye to any unintended portion of the hair.

It is still a further object of the present invention to provide a hair treatment applicator configured to effectively avoid unnecessary contact between the scalp and the dyes.

In one aspect, a scissor-shaped hair coloring applicator 400 may include a handle portion and an applying portion. The applying portion located at an opposite end of the handle portion may include a first applying end and a second applying end, wherein a first applying element and second applying element are attached to the first applying end and second applying end respectively. In one embodiment, the first applying element and second applying element may both include identical arrangement of bristles. For example, the first and second applying elements and may both include short and wide teeth surrounding short bristles in the middle. In another embodiment, the first and second applying elements may include different arrangement of bristles and teeth.

In another aspect, a plier-shaped hair coloring applicator may have a handle portion and an applying portion, and the applying portion may include a first applying end and a second applying end. A first applying element and a second applying element are located at the first applying end and the second applying end respectively. In one embodiment, the first applying element and second applying element may both include very short bristles. In another embodiment, the first and second applying elements may both include short and wide teeth surrounding short bristles in the middle. In a further embodiment, the first and second applying elements may include different arrangement of bristles and teeth depending on different use cases.

In a further aspect, a clamp-shaped hair coloring applicator may also have a handle portion and an applying portion, and the applying portion may include a first applying element and a second applying element. A first applying element and a second applying element are located at the first applying end and the second applying end respectively. In one embodiment, the first and second applying elements may both include short and wide teeth on one side and short bristles disposed on the rest of the surface. In a further embodiment, the first and second applying elements may include different arrangement of bristles and teeth depending on different use cases.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates a prior art disclosing a device for applying hair treatment solution, which includes a head and a handle extending from the head.

FIG. 2 illustrates a prior art disclosing an applicator having a retaining structure, which comprises a predetermined arrangement of tines.

FIG. 3 illustrates a prior art disclosing a hair highlighting applicator, which includes a flexible dispenser for holding a hair coloring gel therein.

FIG. 4 illustrates a schematic view of a hair coloring applicator in the present invention.

FIG. 5 illustrates a schematic view of another embodiment of a hair coloring applicator in the present invention.

FIG. 6 illustrates a schematic view of another aspect of a plier-shaped hair coloring applicator in the present invention.

FIG. 7 illustrates a schematic view of a further aspect of a clamp-shaped hair coloring applicator in the present invention.

FIG. 8 illustrates a schematic view of a further aspect of a comb as a hair coloring applicator in the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The detailed description set forth below is intended as a description of the presently exemplary device provided in accordance with aspects of the present invention and is not intended to represent the only forms in which the present invention may be prepared or utilized. It is to be understood, rather, that the same or equivalent functions and components may be accomplished by different embodiments that are also intended to be encompassed within the spirit and scope of the invention.

Unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood to one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs. Although any methods, devices and materials similar or equivalent to those described can be used in the practice or testing of the invention, the exemplary methods, devices and materials are now described.

All publications mentioned are incorporated by reference for the purpose of describing and disclosing, for example, the designs and methodologies that are described in the publications that might be used in connection with the presently described invention. The publications listed or discussed above, below and throughout the text are provided solely for their disclosure prior to the filing date of the present application. Nothing herein is to be construed as an admission that the inventors are not entitled to antedate such disclosure by virtue of prior invention.

Referring to FIG. 4, a scissor-shaped hair coloring applicator 400 may include a handle portion 410 and an applying portion 420. The applying portion 420 located at an opposite end of the handle portion 410 may include a first applying end 421 and a second applying end 422, wherein a first applying element 4211 and second applying element 4221 may be detachably attached to the first applying end 421 and second applying end 422 respectively. In one embodiment, the first applying element 4211 and second applying element 4221 may both include identical arrangement of bristles. For example, the first and second applying elements 4211 and 4221 may both include short and wide teeth surrounding short bristles in the middle. In another embodiment, the first and second applying elements 4211 and 4221 may include different arrangement of bristles and teeth.

FIG. 5 illustrates a scissor-shaped hair coloring applicator 500 with slightly different configuration from the applicator 400 in FIG. 4. Likewise, the hair coloring applicator 500 may include a handle portion 510 and an applying portion 520. The applying portion 520 located at an opposite end of the handle portion 510 may include a first applying end 521 and a second applying end 522, wherein a first applying element 5211 and second applying element 5221 may be detachably attached to the first applying end 521 and second applying end 522 respectively. In one embodiment, the first applying element 5211 and second applying element 5221 may both include identical arrangement of bristles. For example, the first and second applying elements 5211 and 5221 may both include short and wide teeth surrounding short bristles in the middle. In another embodiment, the first and second applying elements 5211 and 5221 may include different arrangement of bristles and teeth. The arrangement of the bristles and teeth on the applying elements are according to the need and purpose during the hair coloring process.

In another aspect, a plier-shaped hair coloring applicator 600 may have a handle portion 610 and an applying portion 620, and the applying portion 620 may include a first applying end 621 and a second applying end 622, as shown in FIG. 6. A first applying element 6211 and a second applying element 6221 may be detachably attached to the first applying end 621 and the second applying end 6221 respectively. In one embodiment, the first applying element 6211 and second applying element 6221 may both include very short bristles. In another embodiment, the first and second applying elements 6211 and 6221 may both include short and wide teeth surrounding short bristles in the middle. In a further embodiment, the first and second applying elements 6211 and 6221 may include different arrangement of bristles and teeth depending on different use cases.

It is noted that both the scissor-shaped and the plier-shaped applicators, are much easier to control and operate than conventional applicators shown in FIGS. 1 to 3. Furthermore, the scissor-shaped and plier-shaped applicators are configured to clamp a specific strand of the hair and then apply the dyes or other hair treatment materials, even including the portion closed to the root of the hair. More importantly, the dyes will only be applied to the portion that is being clamped by the applicator without spreading out to other portions of the hair. Also, with the clamping force applied by the scissor-shaped and plier-shaped applicators, it is steadier to apply the dyes to the hair to enhance the results of hair coloring and to eliminate unnecessary contact between the scalp and the dyes. Moreover, both the first and second applying elements can be detached from the applying portion, so the user can replace the applying elements to serve different hair treatment purposes.

In a further aspect, a clamp-shaped hair coloring applicator 700 may also have a handle portion 710 and an applying portion 720, and the applying portion 720 may include a first applying element 721 and a second applying element 722, as shown in FIG. 7. A first applying element 7211 and a second applying element 7221 may be detachably attached at the first applying end 721 and the second applying end 7221 respectively. In one embodiment, the first and second applying elements 7211 and 7221 may both include short and wide teeth on one side and short bristles disposed on the rest of the surface. In a further embodiment, the first and second applying elements 7211 and 7221 may include different arrangement of bristles and teeth depending on different use cases.

In still a further aspect as shown in FIG. 8, a comb 800, as a hair coloring applicator, may include a handle portion 810 and an applying portion 820. An applying element 821 may be detachably attached to one side of the applying portion 820. In one embodiment, the applying element 821 may include an arrangement of bristles with different heights. In another embodiment, the applying element 821 may include wide teeth with the length of about 1 centimeter surrounding the bristles in the middle of the comb with the length of about 0.3 to 0.5 centimeter. It is noted that this short tooth comb is good for applying coloring materials to hair around the face and to the middle and bottom layers of the hair.

Comparing with conventional hair coloring applicators, the present invention is advantageous because it is much easier for the user to control the applicator to apply the dye(s) on the hair, and more importantly to a specific strand of the hair, even including the portion closed to the root of the hair. Also, the dyes or the hair treatment materials on the hair coloring applicator are unlikely to spread out to other portions of hair. Moreover, the first and second applying elements in the present invention may be detachable, so the user can replace the applying elements when needed.

Having described the invention by the description and illustrations above, it should be understood that these are exemplary of the invention and are not to be considered as limiting. Accordingly, the invention is not to be considered as limited by the foregoing description, but includes any equivalents. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A hair treatment applicator comprising: a handle portion; and an applying portion located at an opposite end of the handle portion including a first applying end and a second applying end, wherein a first applying element and second applying elements are attached to the first applying end and second applying end respectively, wherein a plurality of bristles and teeth are arranged on the first and second applying elements to precisely apply dyes or hair treatment materials to a specific strand of hair.
 2. The hair treatment applicator of claim 1, wherein the hair coloring applicator is scissor-shaped that is easy to be controlled by the user to apply the dyes or hair treatment materials to a specific strand of hair.
 3. The hair treatment applicator of claim 2, wherein a first applying element and second applying elements are detachably attached to the first applying end and second applying end respectively.
 4. The hair treatment applicator of claim 2, wherein the first applying element and second applying elements both include identical arrangement of bristles.
 5. The hair treatment applicator of claim 2, wherein the first and second applying elements both include short and wide teeth surrounding short bristles in the middle.
 6. The hair treatment applicator of claim 1, wherein the hair coloring applicator is plier-shaped that is easy to be controlled by the user to apply the dyes or hair treatment materials to a specific strand of hair.
 7. The hair treatment applicator of claim 6, wherein a first applying element and second applying elements are detachably attached to the first applying end and second applying end respectively.
 8. The hair treatment applicator of claim 6, wherein the first applying element and second applying elements both include identical arrangement of bristles.
 9. The hair treatment applicator of claim 6, wherein the first and second applying elements both include short and wide teeth surrounding short bristles in the middle.
 10. The hair treatment applicator of claim 1, wherein the hair coloring applicator is clamp-shaped that is easy to be controlled by the user to apply the dyes or hair treatment materials to a specific strand of hair.
 11. The hair treatment applicator of claim 10, wherein a first applying element and second applying element are detachably attached to the first applying end and second applying end respectively.
 12. The hair treatment applicator of claim 10, wherein the first applying element and second applying element both include identical arrangement of bristles.
 13. The hair treatment applicator of claim 10, wherein the first and second applying both include short and wide teeth surrounding short bristles in the middle.
 14. A hair treatment applicator comprising: a handle portion; and an applying portion located at an opposite end of the handle portion including an applying end and a second, and an applying element attached to the applying end, wherein a plurality of bristles and teeth are arranged on the applying element to precisely apply dyes or hair treatment materials to a specific strand of hair.
 15. The hair treatment applicator of claim 14, wherein the hair treatment applicator is comb-shaped that is easy to be controlled by the user to apply the dyes or hair treatment materials to a specific strand of hair.
 16. The hair treatment applicator of claim 14, wherein the applying element is detachably attached to the applying end.
 17. The hair treatment applicator of claim 14, wherein the applying element includes short and wide teeth surrounding short bristles in the middle. 